Retracing Time
by Dudly
Summary: The first person to whom Fuji would talk would always be Eiji.


Hey! I'm active again! -grins- Ok, so this can be seen as FujiEiji or TezFuji or good ol' friendship.

Prompt: _He never wanted to go, so just what was he doing here at the top of this tree with Eiji by his side? Retracing Time._

_--_

"Promise me, Fuji," Eiji had said when they were finally graduating, his eyes stern on his best friend. He seldom used such a solemn look. For him, it was a face unsuitable for happy days. His days were always happy, and the graduation should have been even happier. However, there was something very wrong- something that Eiji had found once in his friend's closet, in the form of a short letter sent by a distant relative, from his uncle. The words meant for Fuji didn't affect Eiji at that time, but now, they were both legal and free to go wherever they wanted. Which was exactly what Eiji wished to avoid, even if he had to be grave on a jovial afternoon. "If you ever leave, I want to be the first to know."

Fuji had smiled and cocked his head to the side. He knew all too well what was going on. Everything was written in the acrobat's face- like each time. "Mah, Eiji. I told you I refused my uncle's offer of studying abroad. Why would today be any different?"

"Fuji."

The honey-haired boy sighed in defeat. The redhead wouldn't be assured with only a vague shake of the head this time around. Nevertheless, Fuji wasn't willing to promise the moon to the boy. Promises were permanent locks, so he kept away from the words 'I promise'. Even when the most adorable face in the world begged him to, he couldn't bring himself to utter unbreakable vows. Promises could be forgotten; that was a fact that he was still resenting.

Yet it was the truth.

"Okay, Eiji. But the day of my departure will never come. Japan is my home."

Never mind that this sentence was nothing short of a quotation, coming from the lips of someone who couldn't hold true to what he was saying.

What was important was that it satisfied the pair.

* * *

**Retracing Time**

Title by violetglow, Summary by Gelly-chan (The Night Owl Is Addicted)... formerly. Well, what inspired me (the summary of the prompt way above), was Gelly-chan summary. But as it is now, it's Rain-chan's. Complain to her. xD

* * *

Kikumaru Eiji was resting quietly in an imposing tree.

But truthfully, he wasn't _in_ it, seeing as that would be a ludicrous and stupid thing to be doing (resting inside a tree): he was on it, or actually, he was sitting on a shockingly high branch. It wasn't very surprising of him, since his acrobatic skills were as amazing as ever.

What was surprising was his silence, especially for those who knew him. Usually, he just grinned and laughed and hugged people-- but at the moment, he seemed completely empty of emotions. His eternal smile had faded, shadowed by big stormy eyes that spoke of internal turmoil. His gaze was traveling across the park, searching for a familiar face restlessly.

A pout was scotched all over his face, making him look like he was still a kid, when he was in fact in his late twenties. His flamboyant red hair just made it more childlike- that, and the fact that he jumped everywhere when given the occasion. He also appreciated the fine joy of glomping an unsuspecting victim, which wasn't exactly considered mature. When the secretary at his job had noted that, he had glared at her and reminded her that fangirling on their coworkers wasn't exactly professional either.

Oh well, he had the right to bite once in a while.

Eiji closed his eyes, trying to shoo the less than good memories. Now wasn't the time to feel angry. But it really couldn't be helped. "Darn that guy," Eiji mumbled after a moment, breaking the eerie silence. Slowly, he took out a cellphone from his pocket and glanced at the screen- three o'clock. That made him sigh, a sigh that sounded suspiciously like a whine. "He's late."

That wasn't like him though. If his friend had any good trait, it was punctuality. His boss (who happened to be Eiji's boss too) never ceased to remind his other employees that getting on time wasn't hard. Fuji Syusuke did it every day without fail.

Then again, it wasn't like Fuji to call in the middle of the night, asking if Eiji had some free time in the following day's afternoon. The dreaming man had been awaken by the tune reserved for his cacti-loving friend, chose by said-friend. The song was nowhere near pleasant (pleasant meant Chocolate's songs, in Eiji's mind). Then, there was the hesitant voice of Fuji. The voice that came as often as Eiji's solemn face, meaning, never. It worried Eiji.

"Hey broody," a voice called from underneath- a blinding flash surprised Eiji and had him nearly falling from the tree. It was close indeed; the cat-like figure had jumped and lost his balance for a split second. But Eiji instantly stabilized himself and pretended to glare at the newcomer.

"You could have killed me with that stunt, nya!" That was true, if you left out the 'I'm Kikumaru Eiji' part. What he omitted to say was that he had been plotting death by uber-high-glomp for the tensai and being the unsuspecting one kind of ruined it. He sighed.

"That picture was a can't miss," Fuji said, smiling pleasantly- but Eiji's knew the smile was forced. It didn't take a genius to figure it out, especially since the brunet's voice was slightly broken. Even so, he did not argue as Fuji began to climb up to the top where the acrobat was sitting.

"Sorry, 'Ji," greeted the man when he was near enough for his voice to carry. "I kind of lost my way."

The red-head pouted at the nickname. "Don't call me that if you don't want me calling you 'Uke'."

Fuji laughed, a sweet melody that sounded like tinkles. "I call Yuuta 'Ta-chan'. He gets angry too. It's adorable."

Eiji laughed along. It lasted about a minute until they regained their seriousness. Sadly enough, they were not kids anymore. They couldn't act like their age. Adults had to pay their freedom by leading tragically dull lives, or so it seemed.

"Oi, I can draw Fujiko a map," Eiji grinned, and at that moment, he was the exact same teenager he was back in the days. The one who would spend hours juggling with his racquet or doing flips happily, the marvelous happy-go-lucky that had to grow up.

In a similar attempt, Fuji closed his eyes in a soft way. "Thank you. But I won't need it."

Eiji threw his head back, gazed at the sky and said, "This is the place where we could play tennis to our hearts content. Surely you remember."

His interlocutor nodded, a real smile tugging at his lips. "This is the tree under which Echizen slept whenever he had free time."

"The tree that shadowed the picture you took, that summer day. The one where Momo-chan kissed Ann-chan for the very first time," Eiji commented with a snicker. That day, he was hidden in a bush and had called Fuji as soon as things started to get romantic. He didn't regret it at all, even though Momoshiro had sulked for an entire day after finding out.

There was some silence before Fuji spoke, his voice hoarse.

"It's the spot where I fell in love."

Eiji looked at his friend with understanding eyes. "From such height, the fall is harder. Thing is, that is way into the past, right, Fuji?"

The smiling face darkened. For a split second, the graceful features twisted, giving their bearer a chaotic air. "The past will always catch up to you."

"Hence the phone call," Eiji said, starting to actually comprehend what was going on. Then his shoulders slumped and he heaved a defeated sigh. "So the day has finally come."

Fuji's eyes widened at the tangible bitterness in his best friend's voice. Until that day, he had viewed him as a carefree guy.

But that was an illusion. Eiji acted like this because it comforted Fuji. That way, their friendship never changed. It was frozen in a slice of time- unharmed, but slightly faded.

"This was the tree under which I made that promise, ne? The graduation day."

His friend's eyebrows shot up in a comical way. For a moment, Eiji had doubted his friend's memory. It was so long ago, when you thought hard about it. Eiji thought hard about it sometimes, and ended up wondering how normal it was to recall every single detail. "You remember?"

Fuji smiled some more.

The memories were indeed intact. The weather was humid, but the bright sun largely made up for it. Their promotion had been one of the smartest. And then there was the tree, in all its ancient glory, standing still in the middle of the park. They had discovered it when Echizen was caught sleeping here. The comfort of it was above doubts and it was easy to climb. Although Eiji complained because it wasn't challenging enough at first, the day he fell off it gave him a lesson. Of course, Fuji never revealed that he was the cause of that fall.

Ever since, the tree had been a witness of nearly all important events. Kisses, love confessions, fights, promises…

"I still mean what I said that day. Japan is my home, Eiji. It always was."

The confession had come out in a raspy whisper, miraculously loud enough to be heard. It marked a turn in the flow of the conversation. Fuji was now fiddling with a leaf that had fallen on his pants while, unconsciously, Eiji's spine had stiffened. None of them allowed silence to settle in. Fuji had pronounced Eiji's name softly, a small gift that signified a thousand things at once. Eiji was already replying to the previous statement though.

"Japan _is_ your home, Syusuke? Like it was Tezuka's home, right?"

It had come out sharper that expected and it was a strong blow for Fuji. The genius had inwardly winced but remained silent, his features composed in a calculated fashion. So Eiji had deciphered the real root of his problems. Intimacy did that to you, sometimes.

"I'm not an idiot, Fujiko," Eiji chided forcedly, plastering a traditional grin on his strained face. Otherwise, he'd probably bark from anger. He wasn't a dangerous dog, he was a sweet cat. Fuji was, too. In his own way…

They were an unsettling duo, amusing and creepy at the same time. It often brought the strangest atmosphere in their working place, which entertained them to no ends. They had built a strong friendship, which included reading the other's mind… and breaking your friend's heart when you announce him you're about to leave.

Fuji didn't understand why it couldn't be simpler. If Eiji was truly a cat, he could pick him up and store him in a suitcase. That way, he'd travel with his best confident everywhere. "I, of all people, know you're not stupid. I just wish you didn't know me inside out."

That was a lie and they were both aware of it. Fuji wanted to escape reality, but he couldn't lie to himself if he couldn't lie to Eiji.

"I simply want to chase him," Fuji admitted, his eyes shifting away from his friend's intent stare. "It seems like a good time to remind him what he left behind."

Eiji cocked his head innocently to the side. "Because the famous tennis player, Tezuka Kunimitsu, finally got divorced, nya?"

"That," Fuji said, sheepishly. "Among other things."

The red-haired man threw his head back with a groan, rolling his eyes in the process. By the way, all those actions combined don't fit together. Try it. See?

But Eiji didn't discuss further. Instead, he brought back the topic to good old times spent at Seigaku, specifically in the symbolic tree. Fuji complied and their recollections entertained them for a good twenty minutes before Eiji suddenly jumped out of the tree and landed gracefully on his feet. Fuji, interrupted in his description of the Tezuka Zone, blinked in surprise.

From the ground, Eiji shouted some words and then ran away. It wasn't that he was impatient… But he would be waiting after Fuji long enough after.

"_Oi, Fujiko! Just you remember that I won't wait for you to get divorced before chasing after you! I'll come up to you soon enough and kick your ass for leaving me behind!" _

_A pause. "This tree will see more of us. That's a promise."_

Left alone, Fuji smiled, or more likely, smirked. He chuckled a bit at his best friend's overreaction. Oh well. It seemed like he'd have to hurry to Tezuka!zone the Tezuka back in Japan so the three of them could retrace time in the old tree.

He'd just have to deal with the consequences of kidnapping a star later.

* * *

Special thanks to ChibisukeGirl and Sweet Obsidian Rain for beta'ing this piece. :) Thanks to the reviews noting my several mistakes... like, not rereading and forgetting some spaces and writing about Fuji storing Eiji in a -staircase-. xD

Please leave a review on your way out?


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